Key loop supporting plate



Jan. 26, 1954 M. v. DUELL KEY LOOP SUPPORTING PLATE Filed Jan. 20, 1951 dihlnh INVENTOR Morgan VDuell ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 26, 1954 UITED STATES PTENT OFFICE KEY LOOP SUPPORTING PLATE Morgan V. Duel], Oakville, Conn., assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company. Waterbury, 001111., a corporation of Connecticut Application January 20, 1951, Serial No. 207,023

2 Claims.

This invention relates to key loop supporting plates and particularly to an improved retainer member for holding and permitting the removal of the kc holder hooks or loops from the holder support or plate.

The invention pertains particularly to that type of key holder plate formed with a barrel or tubular portion having a series of transverse slots merging into eniarged openings, through which he heads of key loops may be assembled and removed, and wherein a retainer or holder bar is employed for closing oil the enlarged openings in retaining the key loops in the plate.

The principal object of this invention i to provide a key retainer plate made of only two parts and having all the advantages of the more complex holder plates in providing sprin means for actuating the retainer bar, also having proi-"ision to permit the assembly of the key loops into the plate without the necessity of having to manually operate the retainer bar and to autornatically discharge the key loops by the manual operation of said retainer bar.

A further object is to so construct and form the key holder plate and the retainer bar that they can be assembled and disassembled from each other without any subsequent formin operations by merely having the parts properly interfitted and sprung into and out of assembled engagement.

A still further object is to provide a key holder plate of the above character such that it can be made of relatively thin steel stock and hardened to provide suitable spring temper to the plate out or" which a spring tongue may be formed of sufficient strength to actuate the retainer bar.

These and other objects and features of the invention will appear from the following description thereof in which reference is made to the figures of the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front plan view or" a key retainer plate showing a single key loop associated therewith.

Fig. 2 is a back plan view of the key holder plate.

Fig. 3 is a ri ht end view of the plate.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken along the line -tl of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing how the free edge part of the barrel portion of the plate is sprung outwardly to permit the assembly and disassembly of the retainer bar.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the retainer bar per se, and

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the key case in open position showing the holder plate attached thereto.

Referring now to the drawing in which like reference numerals denote like parts throughout the several views, the numeral it refers to a cover or leather folder to which is secured the flattened base part ll of a key holder plate 52 adjacent one edge of said cover It! as by tubular rivets l3 passing through suitable openings Hi in the base part II.

The holder plate i2 is preferably made of high carbon steel and hardened for reasons as will appear later. The fact that this plate is so designed as to permit it to be made of high carbon steel permits the use of a much thinner stock than is customarily employed in key holder plates, and therefore, results in a saving in the cost of the material used.

The plate l2 adjacent the upper longitudinal edge of the base part ii is formed with a relatively narrow wall l5 positioned substantially at right angles to the base part i i. Extendin from the upper end of the upright wall 55 is an inclined wall it supporting on its outer end a tubular part I l. The opposite end of the tubular part ii extends into a flattened section is that normally lies in a plane common with the base part II. A series of circumferential narrow slots ii? are provided in the tubular part ii and terminated at one end in enlarged openings 25 positioned adjacent the flattened section iii.

The keys are attached to the plate I? by means of the usual form of key loops 2! that have shanks 22 capable of having free movement in the slots and enlarged heads 23 on one end capable of passing through the enlarged openings 28 but not through the slots l9.

In order to retain the key loops 2! attached to the tubular part ii provision is made of alocking strap or retainer bar 2d. The bar Ed is located within the tubular part ii and is held there in place by means of a pair of spaced T- shape lugs 25 each consisting of a transverse head 25 on the end of a connecting neck 27.

In order to interfit the T-shape lugs 25 into the holder plate I2, the base part I! is provided with elongated openings 28 suitable to loosely receive the transverse heads 26 while the upright wall I5 is provided with slots 29 joined into said openings 28 and dimensioned to receive the lug connecting necks 27. In the normal assembled position of the retainer bar 24, as shown in Fig. 3, the inside edges 36 of the T-shape lug heads 26 are positioned against the outside of the upright wall l5 to prevent lateral movement of the retainer bar 24 within the tubular part I! and at the same time allow the retainer bar 24 to pivot within said tubular part ii.

The retainer bar 24 is normally positioned to lie fiat against the top surface of the flattened section i8 and positioned to partially close ofi enlarged openings 28 so as to prevent the key loop heads 23 from passing therethrough. The bar 25 is normally held in this position by means of an elongated spring tongue 3| cut out from the base part i i with a suitable U-shaped clearance slot 32 thereabout to allow free movement of said tongue. The outer end of said tongue is slightly offset as at 33 and adapted to rest against the upper surface of said retainer bar 2 5. (Note Fig. 4.)

The retanier bar 25 is provided with a projection lug 35 at one end serving as a handle that is exterior of the tubular part i'l for operating said retainer bar 2 5. As noted in Figs. 1 and 2 one edge of the lug handle 35 operates in a recess 35 provided in the adjacent end of the tubular part ii, which slot controls the amount of stroke that the bar 2% may pivot within the tubular part i'l.

As brought out in the objects of this invention, one of the principal features of this holder plate is that the retainer bar may be assembled into the tubular part without any subsequent forming assembly operations. In order to a semble the retainer bar 2 1, the tubular part ll is sprung so that the flattened section it provides for a clearance space between its free end the adjacent end of the base part H as at 36 (see Fig. 6) which will allow the retainer bar 2 to he slipped thereinto place and positioned so that the transverse heads 2:"; of the T-shape lugs 25 will align with the elongated openings 23 in base part i i and the connecting necks 22' in line with the slots In allowing the tubular part ii to spring back to its normal position the flattened section it will elevate the retainer bar 25 in o its assembled position with the T shape lugs engaged within their respective openings and slots 28 and 29.

It is to be noted from Fig. '7 that the transverse heads .26 of the T-shape lugs are slightly biased to the plane of the retainer bar 24 and connecting necks 2?. This is in order to position the heads 26 slightly above the plane of the base part il so as to prevent the heads 26 from slipping out of the elongated openings 28 coincident with the pivoting operation of the retainer bar 24.

In order to assemble the key loops 2! to the holder plate E2, the enlarged head 23 on the loop shank 22 is first aligned with the enlar ed opening 26 from the underside of said plate 2|, and then forcing it upwardly through the opening 26 will cause the bar 24 to pivot against the influence of the spring tongue 3| and allow the key loop head 23 to slip into the tubular part ll. After the enlarged head 23 has cleared the outer edge of the bar 24, as seen in Fig. 5, the bar 24 will automatically swing back to its closed position to partially cover the opening 26 so as to prevent the escape of said key loop 2: from the retainer plate. The key loops 2! with or without keys will normally lie against the upper surface of the base part II. To remove the key loops 25, it is only necessary to swing them to an upper position and by lifting the handle lug 3 5 the bar 24 will be swung to open position to clear the enlarge-d openings 20 whereupon the key loop will automatically drop out through said enlarged openings 28.

While I have herein described and upon the drawing shown an illustrative embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may comprehend other constructions and arrangements Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a key holder device to which key loops having enlarged heads may be removably secured comprising a plate member having a flat base part adapted to be attached to a flexible support, a narrow wall extending upwardly from one edge of said base part, an inclined wall supported by said narrow wall and extended into a tubular part with the free end of the latter terminating in a flat section on a plane common with said base part and having its free edge adjacent said narrow Wall, said tubular part having spaced circumferential slots terminating in enlarged openings adjacent said flat section and through which openings the key loop heads may be inserted and removed, a retainer bar positioned in said tubular part. means hingedly connecting said bar to said narrow wall and permitting pivotal movement of said bar in said tubular member, spring means normally urging said bar against said fiat section in position to partially close ofi said enlarged openings, and handle means for operating said bar against the influence of said spring.

2. In a key holding device as defined by claim 1 wherein said hingedly connecting means is in the form of T-shaped lugs projecting from one longitudinal edge of said bar and having interfitted engagement in complemental slots provided in said base part and narrow wall.

MORGAN V. DUELL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,051,432 Zahn Aug. 18, 1936 2,201,833 Koelling May 21, 19 i0 

